LDS Education
by Alleen and Don Nilsen with help from
Chris Kartchner, Greg Wilson, Steve Gibbons,
and Alleen’s Sunday School Class:
Charlie, Lauren, Jessie, Braden, Toby, and Daniel
1
…And some kids who believe
in education
2
Our favorite students at ASU
were educated in LDS Primaries.
They know how to raise
their hands.
They know how to listen.
They know how to stay on
task.
They have intellectual
curiosity.
They enjoy learning
things and having fun.
3
Some of Don’s favorite ASU
students:
•
Brent Jameson took a linguistics class from me. He later became a
French teacher and a Mission President in the Belgian Congo.
•
Before he was my student, Fred Mortenson was a star on ASU’s
football team. He later became a member of our Stake Presidency.
•
Jenny Crowder was one of my students at ASU. She has now finished
her student teaching and is ready to become a teacher. The Crowders
are two of my favorite role models in the ward.
•
I’ve also enjoyed working with BYU linguists including Samuel C.
Monson; Dallin Oaks, II; and J. Reuben Clark, III.
4
Our Own Educations:
We earned our BA Degrees (Don in French and Alleen in English) from
BYU in 1958 and our MA’s in 1961 from American U. in Washington D.C.
Don earned his Ph.D. in Theoretical Linguistics from the University of
Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1971, while Alleen earned hers in English
Education from the University of Iowa in 1973.
While most linguists study rule-governed communication strategies, i.e.
“Grammar,” we have been interested in various types of non-direct
language including such literary devices as metaphor, satire, parody,
innuendo, symbolism, irony, and humor.
We enjoy making analogues between art and literature and especially
between music and language because they are both linear. Music has
expressions to explain deviations—terms like scherzo, requiem, major,
minor, diminished, augmented, etc. These deviations relate to various
human emotions. And as Toby observed in class, there’s always
something more you can learn with music.
5
An educated life is a happier life because
you will…
Be more in control of your own destiny because you will have more
money and more opportunity.
Have more skills and more flexibility, which will enable you to get
pleasure from serving both your church and your community.
Be able to serve in both Church and sectarian roles. In Alleen’s
class, the students found that our General Authorities have been
highly educated men who help prestigious positions before they
were called to work full-time for the church.
Work harder, but you won’t want to retire because you will be doing
something you enjoy.
6
Building a Strong Foundation
7
The Lord wants us to learn
because we should . . .
Start out with a question and try to arrive at a tentative answer.
Have an interest in many points of view and perspectives and
have more educated friends because as one of Alleen’s students
explained, “If it weren’t for developing relationships with all the
teachers and friends I had in school, today I would be lonely.
Be able to “suspend disbelief” and therefore discover truth and
beauty wherever it is to be found (13th Article of Faith).
.
8
Honest and respectful discussions are a big
part of getting educated.
• Many Americans feel alienated and polarized from each
other.
• One reason is that with so much easily available
information, we can isolate ourselves and read or listen
only to ideas we already agree with.
• Another reason is that social media allows young
people to have access to all kinds of information that
their parents do not have.
9
We are always happy to see LDS people (including
ourselves) using skills developed in church to help in
various community groups.
Here we were telling stories at
ASU’s Dia de Los Niňos
Here Don is leaving to be a
judge at the International
Science and Engineering Fair
10
We are also happy to see families enjoying
online/intellectual activities together
11
LDS Contributions to Education on
the Western Frontier
In many small Mormon towns, the school house was built
before the church house—and then used for both purposes.
In 1890, Alleen’s great grandfather, Levi Mathers Savage,
(the oldest son of the man whose story is told in the film
Seventeen Miracles), was sent by Church President Wilford
Woodruff to found the Snowflake Academy (the first high
school in Northern Arizona), much like the beginning of
Eastern Arizona College, which was founded by the Church
in 1890.
He was later called to be the Bishop in the small town of
Woodruff, 13 miles north of Snowflake, where he served for
more than 20 years.
12
More Recent LDS Contributions to Arizona
Public Education
G. Homer Durham was ASU’s
President 1960-69. He wanted to
make “Tempe as noteworthy a name
as Oxford, Cambridge, or Berkeley.”
He transformed the ASU campus, by
changing public streets into malls,
securing final funding and
authorization for what everyone
called the “Frank Lloyd Wright
Auditorium,” and founding the
College of Law.
He got approval for Ph.D. degrees in
subjects beyond Education, got us
accepted into the WAC conference
and hosted the first Fiesta Bowl.
13
Today Mary Lou and Ira A. Fulton are major ASU
Contributors.
They donated money not only to Tempe High School, but to
the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, the Ira A. Fulton
College of Engineering, the Fulton Center, and indirectly to
the on-campus LDS Institute.
14
Why is it both easier and harder to get educated
today?
EASIER Because
• There is no shortage of
books, magazines, and
newspapers.
• We can get all kinds of
information online.
• Children have more time
for school because we no
longer have farms
dependent on child labor.
HARDER Because
• There is much more
information than there
used to be.
• None of us can read all
the information we see
everyday.
• We can’t depend on the
“truth” of everything we
read, especially online.
• College costs more than it
used to.
15
How to become better educated today
• Formal Education
• Missionary Service
– Missionaries learn foreign languages, foreign accents or dialects, and
foreign belief systems.
– Good missionaries must understand the relationship between their own
belief system and that of their audience in order to be effective.
• Informal Education (field trips, books, movies, etc.)
• Music (Singing, Playing Piano, Pondering Lyrics, etc.)
16
Our young people have fewer years
to prepare for their missions.
17
The Biggest Increase Is in Young Women
Every missionary comes home with
stories about things they had to do
that they didn’t feel prepared for.
18
Just think of how many more choices today’s young people have
for careers. The New York Times magazine (5-26-2013) featured
BYU’s computer animation program under the title “When
Hollywood Wants Good, Clean Fun, It Goes to Mormon Country.”
19
Chris Crowe & Jesse Crisler’s
“How I Came to Write”: LDS Authors for Young Adults
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Orson Scott Card
Myesha Chaney
Chris Crowe
Shannon Hale
Kimberly Heuston
Stephanie Meyer
Beatrice Sparks
Rosie Thomas
Helen Hughes Vick
20
Today we live longer and have better health so that we can
continue learning and contributing, which made us especially
happy to be honored with the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award
given by the Association for Theoretical and Applied Humor.
21
Alleen (and the Doctrine and Covenants) gets the last word:
22